Thursday, January 26th

by Anthony Iverson

This weekend’s lineup of events throughout the Twin Cities comes as a welcome distraction from the happenings of the outside world. The Current turns 12, The Great Northern winter festival kicks off and a smattering of theatre opening and closing weekends round out what you can expect from Minneapolis-St. Paul this weekend, among much else.

xo-l’étoile

CONTINUING THROUGH FEBRUARY 28

Wells Fargo Winter Skate

@ Landmark Center
75 5th St. East
St. Paul

All Day / Free

As if Downtown St. Paul wasn’t already picturesque enough, Winter brings a new level of Instagram worthy sights particularly in Rice Park which sports the twinkling holiday decorations that accompany the St. Paul Winter Carnival. This season the area adjacent to the park in front of the Landmark Center will also be home to an epic skating rink open to the public. Bring your friends and family out for some icy fun, and don’t worry if you don’t have skates, you can rent them there for only $4 or borrow for free if you bank at Wells Fargo. It’s not like we have a paucity of outdoor activities available to us during the Minnesota Winter, but think of this as a great excuse to explore Downtown St. Paul this season. -Anthony Enright

When Eric Dayton, R.T. Rybak, Andrew Zimmern, the 130 year-old Saint Paul Winter Carnival, Northern Spark, the City of Lakes Loppet Ski Festival, Target and the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships come together, you pay attention. The upcoming Great Northern Festival is packed with events, many of which are free and family-friendly. Outdoor feasts, ice carving, cross-country skiing, snow sculpting, pond hockey, winter runs, speed skating and figure skating are all popular events, but there are options for indoor kids too. (We’re particularly fond of the Saintly City Cat Show. Everyone must go at least once.) It’s easy to get bogged down with the wintertime cabin fever blues, but The Great Northern reminds us what makes living up North so special. So bundle up, grab some of those weird chemical hand warmer thingies (SCIENCE!), and spend the next week getting in touch with the Winter Wonderland that we’re lucky enough to call home. -Beth Hammarlund

January may be one of the slower times in the Twin Cities cultural calendar, but it’s also the time that the Walker unleashes one of its most revered events – the iconic Out There festival. Now in its twenty-ninth edition, the annual festival brings a host of cutting-edge performance makers from around the globe to the Walker’s stage for an examination of where performance art is now and where it’s going. As the finale of the festival, the Walker welcomes to its stage French theatre maker Philippe Quesne and his company Vivarium Studio with surreal modern day fairy tale La Mélancolie des Dragons. Taking place in a snowy forest, six Heavy Metal fans are stranded in their broken down Citroën hatchback on their quest to build a hard rock–themed amusement park in protest of the cheap consumerism surrounding them. What they find is a magical tale celebrating 80s music and friendship in the most dire of circumstances. -Todd O’Dowd

It is still, to this day, considered one of the most audacious moments in television game show history. On May 19, 1984, an unassuming man named Michael Larson went on the television game show Press Your Luck, and proceeded to win over $110,000 in one episode. What people didn’t know, and would find out later, was that Larson had spent the past year studying the show and the patterns of the board, and proceeded to game the system. It’s that myth of the individual taking on The System (for good and ill) that serves as the context for Big Money, the latest piece from the mighty Sandbox Theatre. Using Larson’s life (and all the strange things that happened after his television notoriety), the company will explore what happens when someone keeps gaming the system all the way to the end. For their return to the Andy Boss stage at Park Square, the company has assembled a formidable ensemble; including project lead Derek Lee Miller, director Theo Langason, and a stellar cast headed by Peter Heeringa as Michael Larson. -Todd O’Dowd

When we talk about Minnesota Opera (and we do quite a bit here at l’étoile), we often talk about how it is one of the leading developers and producers of new operas in the world. So it’s not news when we hear that they’re presenting an American premiere. What is new about this is that this is the American premiere of an opera that debuted in 1787! During his day, the Spanish Classical era composer Vicente Martín y Soler was a contemporary of Mozart and was just as popular (so much so that he was nicknamed “the Valencian Mozart”) and was more routinely praised for his comedic operas. One of his biggest hits at the time was L’arbore di Diana (Diana’s Garden). Working with a libretto from Lorenzo Da Ponte (who was writing operas for him, Antonio Salieri, and Mozart at the same time – and would go on to write the librettos for Cosi Fan Tutti, The Marriage of Figaro, and Don Giovanni), Soler’s comedy takes place in the garden of the titular goddess of chastity, and the hilarious horrors of love that Cupid brings to her followers. This American premiere is decidedly a local affair with Theater Latté Da artistic director Peter Rothstein and Minnesota Opera music director Michael Christie working with a cast led by Leah Partridge and Adriana Zabala as Diana and Cupid, and half of the principal roles being played by members of Minnesota Opera’s Resident Artist program. -Todd O’Dowd

THURSDAY, JANUARY 26 – SUNDAY, JANUARY 9
(Additional Performances through February 5)

The Moving Company presents Liberty Falls 54321

@ The Lab Theater
700 N 1st St
Minneapolis

Thursdays – Sundays at 7:30 pm / $20-33

Last year, The Moving Company created their dizzy small town satire Liberty Falls 54321 as a send up of small town America and the small mindedness that goes with it. What a difference a year has made, as the citizens of Liberty Falls, Wisconsin (“population 958, right off Highway 47, and just up Constitution Creek”) and the values embodied by them and the town’s namesake – the 105 year old Liberty Rose Johnson – have gone from subversive alt-right to the mainstream; which makes them the perfect target for this company made up of alums of the late, lamented Theatre de la Jeune Lune. Equal parts biting satire and comic opera, this work tackles the histories we choose to tell. And given that this company is made up of some of the best and brightest in the theatre scene (with Dominique Serrand directing a cast that features Heidi Bakke, Christina Baldwin, Jennifer Baldwin Peden, Steven Epp, Nathan Keepers, Dom Wooten and Gabriel Murphy), this is one small-town celebration that we can’t wait to see fall apart. -Todd O’Dowd

Make no mistake: This show is Dweezil Zappa playing the music of his father, Frank Zappa, in a show that used to be billed, sensibly, as “Zappa Plays Zappa.” But an ongoing war with Dweezil’s oddly money-minded brother Ahmet has meant that the Dweez is no longer able to use that name without paying a hefty licensing fee (to, you know, his brother). It’s ridiculous crap, and doubly ridiculous given that Dweezil is keeping his father’s music alive and making it a living, breathing, performing thing rather than just an archive of old records, which is amazing. And Dweezil, if you didn’t know this, is one of the best guitarists in the country, at least as good as his dad if not better, and he does a stellar job interpreting even some of Frank’s most complicated rock tunes. So if you’re in any doubt whatsoever that this will be an awesome show, let me assure you: this will be an awesome show. -Jon Hunt

An evening of almost entirely woman-led soul/hip-hop music, which is super cool. The one odd man out is Babatunde Lea, who plays an amazingly funky African percussion jazz. The rest of the evening is singer-songwriter soul of the finest order. Ashley Dubose was featured on The Voice but, you know, you can’t tell what someone’s up to from a reality show — her solo music is retro-inspired neo-soul music with some astounding arrangements, and she’s a remarkably sweet singer to boot. Tiffany Nicole is definitely on a similar tip, but her stuff is straight-up Gospel music with some Jesus content, which ain’t a bad thing, but it’s definitely less edgy. It’s all interesting stuff, and nice to see a night like this at the always eclectic Icehouse. -Jon Hunt

When Z Puppets Rosenschnoz and In the Heart of the Beast Mask and Puppet Theatre – two of the most dynamic and inventive puppet theatre companies in the nation – decide to join forces, you know something magical is going to happen. And what they have created is something truly special. Described as “a bedtime story by biologists” Cellula is a black-light puppet theatre piece that uses cellular division, reproduction, and mitosis (as told by a mother to her daughter) as a magical, microscopic examination of what connects every single thing on the planet. -Todd O’Dowd

Few companies do work that is as vital as 20% Theatre Company. Taking its name from the infamous 2002 NY Council of Arts study stating that 20% of professional theatre artists today are women, the company has become a much-needed and much-admired showcase for female, queer, and trans theatre artists in town. Two years ago, the company got some of its best reviews for its one-night-only mounting of the area premiere of Elise Forier Edie’s one-woman play The Pink Unicorn. Centering around a Christian widow in a conservative Texas town, and the turmoil she faces as her daughter comes out as gender queer and starts a Gay and Straight Alliance group at her high school, The Pink Unicorn was a triumph for the company, artistic director Claire Avitable, and actress Mykel Pennington. Which is why, in this volatile political climate, we are not surprised to see the company remount this work; with Ms. Pennington recreating her performance with director Meghan Gunderson (who served as assistant director in the original production under Ms. Avitable). You have six chances to see this important production. Don’t miss it! -Todd O’Dowd

Three years ago, playwright James Still debuted his play Miranda as part of Illusion Theater’s developmental “Fresh Ink” series. Centering around a CIA operative mourning her brother lost on the 9/11 attacks and suffering an existential crisis while under cover in Yemen directing a youth production of Othello, Miranda is an examination of what happens when you are forced to question everything and everyone around you all the time. After years of development and resultant political turmoil at home and abroad, Illusion is presenting the world premiere of this timely and gripping psychological drama with an all-star production roster including director Michael Robins leading a cast that includes Beth Gilleland, Delta Giordano, Steve Hendrickson, Ricky Morisseau, and Carolyn Pool in the title role. Highly recommended! -Todd O’Dowd

When it debuted in 1958, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s musical Flower Drum Song (loosely based on the groundbreaking novel by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee) was hailed at the time for bringing Asian Americans to the Broadway stage (and for launching the careers of Broadway and cabaret star Pat Suzuki and comedian and television icon Jack Soo), but would be vilified over the resultant years for trading in racist stereotypes in the book existing cheek by jowl with some of R&H’s best songs (including “A Hundred Million Miracles,” “I Enjoy Being A Girl,” “Love, Look Away,” “Don’t Marry Me,” and more). Eventually, in 2002, the revised version of the musical opened on Broadway with a new libretto by Chinese-American playwright David Henry Hwang (best known for the play M. Butterfly) realigned the tale of a family culturally divided between a traditional Chinese Opera theatre owner, his assimilated American culture-loving son, and the Chinese emigre who comes to live with them fleeing the Mao regime. If this clash between the traditional and the contemporary sounds familiar, it should; it’s basically the story of the history of Mu Performing Arts, whose entire twenty-five year company history could be seen as an examination of and reconciliation between cultural history and modern culture. In honor of their company anniversary Mu and Park Square are joining forces to present this musicallast seen in town in 2009 when Mu produced the work with the Ordway. With Mu artistic director Randy Reyes (himself an alum of that 2009 production) directing a cast featuring Stephanie Bertumen, Sherwin Resurreccion, Wesley Mouri, Eric “Pogi” Sumangil, and Meghan Kreidler this is one “miracle” twenty-five years in the making. -Todd O’Dowd

The Minneapolis Lending Library is a unique orginization that allows everyone to experience the joys of lining their walls with amazign local art, at no cost. That sounds too good to be true, bit it’s just one of the amazing things about living in our stellar art saturated metropolis. Their lending event for the season occurs this Friday, so come out and peruse the awesome selection of artworks in a variety of mediums on offer to lend for the season. – Anthony Enright

As the country plunges into murky waters ahead for women’s rights, Gamut Gallery’s inaugural exhibition of 2017, Valure, explores the female position while deconstructing the confines of what it means to be “feminine.” Originally slated for five female artists, the exhibition evolved to involve more artists as it came to be. The opening night will feature live experimental dub music by local female electronic music producer Aimerie. If you can’t make it to Friday night’s festivities, mark you calendar for the the closing of this dynamic exhibition in which Gamut Gallery welcomes Ghostbridge Theatre for a one-night-only performance of Jeff Nichols’ Mannequin’s Daughter, If this exhibition is any indicator, we see more cool collaborations and multidisciplinary exploration of art on the Gamut Gallery agenda for 2017. At least that’s something to look forward to. -Allison Shilinski

For the last six years the George Latimer Central Library has been hosting a monthly raucous musical gathering and a live cash bar. For this edition, they are featuring a couple of performers with some serious musical and lyrical literacy. Both Sarah White and Eric Mayson move across styles to bring their own vision to beating life. Worth seeing in specific and celebrating in general. Some people barely have books in their libraries and we get to have live music and free drinks (to members) in ours too! Isn’t it great living in an educated and lively cultural metropolis? Something to remember and take pride in when you man the barricades! – T.A. Wardrope

So, 12 years ago Minnesota Public Radio had the gumption to take on the curse of “alternative radio” in the Twin Cities. Clearly the mix of public media and hip marketing has been something of a magic formula as they’ve now outlasted every previous attempt. (This is based purely on memory and could be an alternate fact.) The fact that their clever mix of indie pop and more far afield music endures is also something to celebrate every year as well. Like other local bastions of culture, you may not always agree with them, but you thank your lucky stars they are there to criticize. For these two sold out shows they’ve gathered some established stars alongside newer names and cult favorites to represent where they’ve been and where they are going. Something to remember as the Lunatic Cheeto comes after their national source of funding. Maybe tacking on a membership to your bar tab wouldn’t be such a bad idea. – T.A. Wardrope

Thanks to the participation of another Springsteen tribute band, the B-Street band — briefly — in the morass known as the Trump Inauguration, I feel like Springsteen tribute bands momentarily got a bad rap. But I mean, come on — the Man Himself is a revolutionary of the highest order, and of course one of the four or five best songwriters ever minted, and here’s a caseload of astonishing songs that deserve to have their epic-ness aired on a regular basis. So any trepidation you have should vanish — especially considering this event is FREE. I’ve heard really good things about Michael Anderson’s Boss impression (or, well, interpretation) and these guys have definitely been getting the gigs lately. And tribute bands are weirdly hot right now, I guess because we want sweet familiarity to distract us from the morass outside the window. So yeah: THE BOSS. He rules, and so will this. -Jon Hunt

Star Wars vs. Star Trek is one of the great cultural arguments of all time, but haven’t there been moments when you, in the midst of a scathing critique of the Empire’s inability to spot a major flaw in their Death Star design (I know this was touched on in Rogue One, but still), stopped and thought to yourself, “This argument would be a lot more fun with drag queens.” You were right! This argument would be a lot more fun with drag queens! And this Saturday morning, you’ll get your wish as Princess Leias and Borg Queens face off at Flip Phone’s Star Wars vs. Star Trek Drag Brunch. There will be Leia buns. There will be Federation onesies. There will hopefully be someone dressed as TNG Whoopi Goldberg. (I mean, Jean-Luc would be nothing without her sage counsel.) This is an all ages event, but it will be loud, and there will be curse words and rogue cutlets. So if you’re bringing children, make sure they’re prepared for some queens serving unapologetic General Organa Realness. May the Force be with you. Live long and prosper. -Beth Hammarlund, Who Loves Them Both and Cannot Even Deal With This Sophie’s Choice Situation

While every theatre fan in town is salivating over the Guthrie’s forthcoming production of King Lear (with Nathaniel Fuller and Stephen Yoakam – two of our best actors in the Twin Cities – alternating in the title role), this weekend there’s another pretty amazing show opening there. Loosely inspired by the Barrymore family (yes, Drew Barrymore’s antecedents – in particular her grandfather John and her great aunt Ethel), George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber’s comedy The Royal Family is one of the zaniest, yet most heartfelt plays ever written about the joys and sorrows of the show biz life. Set in the 1920s, the Cavendish family is made up of three generations of actors who are all at different stages of their career – from the grande dame matriarch Fanny, to the womanizing Tony, to prima donna Julie, to ingenue Gwen, and more – all trying to decide between the actor’s tumultuous life or the stability of the “real” world. What makes the Guthrie production so exciting (aside from the fantastic cast – which includes Robert O. Berdahl, Bear Brummel, David Darrow, Elizabeth Franz, Stuart Gates, Shawn Hamilton, Charles Hubbell, Victoria Janicki, Bill McCallum, Michelle O’Neill, Mo Perry, Matthew Saldívar, Angela Timberman, Ricardo Vázquez, and Tatiana Williams) is the fact that it’s being directed by Rachel Chavkin; not only the artistic director of the New York theatre collective The TEAM, but is currently receiving critical hosannas for the Broadway production of the musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. Do not miss this! – Todd O’Dowd

You already love the SooVAC. If you don’t, you just haven’t met her yet. Since 2001, the South Minneapolis institution has been committed to nurturing and promoting under-represented talent and provocative artwork. Get Lucky, the organization’s annual fundraiser, has become one of the Cities’ can’t-miss annual events. By attending, you help the SooVAC continue their mission, have the opportunity to take in (and bid on) some stellar local art, and you get the chance to mingle with some of the most delightful artists, patrons and organizers in Minnesota. And if you’re interested, but the price tag is giving you pause, just remember that the SooVAC provides the community with free art shows all year long, and Get Lucky is one of the reasons that they’re able to do that. And with a certain cheeto-dusted manchild now in office, it is more important than ever to support the arts in any way we can. -Beth Hammarlund

This biennial juried exhibition is produced by the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA), hosted by by Public Functionary, and supported by the Cedarwoods foundation. Wintertide showcases the brilliant work by NEMAA member artists including work by mid-career and established artists based in Northeast. The competitive jury process awards a total of $12,500 in cash prizes presented at the opening reception along with an “Audience Choice,” announced at the closing reception. With a wide variety of impressive work from local artists this is the must see exhibit of the weekend. – Anthony Enright

B-Lectric is one event of the many happening during the 10 day Great Northern Festival. Northern Lights, the producers of Northern Spark, will be constructing custom ice walls that will become projection screens for light-based artwork as the sky darkens. How cool is that! Light work will includes some documentary videos shot at Standing Rock, North Dakota, Joshua McGarvey’s Ice Fall-Feel the Change (a glacier calving simulation) as well as several themed Art Shanties. DJ Jake Rudh is providing tuneage folks such as Indeed Brewing, Beam Suntory and Barbette will be offering up plenty of tasty food and beverages. – T.A. Wardrope

There’s something perfect about seeing Charlie Parr on a Sunday. The man is in many ways a religious ascetic. He’s vegan, sleeps in his car while on tour and tends to distrust the machines of “professional” music production. His vision is touched by the mystical, too, but that’s there as a ghost. The matter and substance of his music is firmly grounded in the “fertile and frozen soil” of Minnesota. Seeing Charlie Parr at the Turf Club should also be a pilgrimage for the faithful or seeking. Outside of Duluth, it’s probably the closest thing to a church for local Parr fans. So when you step out into the freezing air at closing time, you might feel a bit warmer inside. This could be the whiskey, the beer, the good company. Of course, there’s a chance it could be something else too. -T.A. Wardrope